Hopefully you were able to identify some goals for yourself. And if you have been following the rest of the guidance in this series they should be aligned with your values and your sense of where you are going in life, your purpose.

Congratulations. You are now on the way.

Deciding to be successful starts at the very beginning of your journey. It is the attitude you adopt now, not the hope that you will become successful at some point in the future. Success starts here and now.

By choosing to focus on your goals, by writing them down, by being clear and concise, you are setting yourself up in the best possible way to achieve them.

I want you to have another look at what you have written. Can you measure your goals? How will you know if you have achieve them?

If your goal was something like “Be comfortably off” how will you know when that occurs? Really focus on what that means – having money in the bank? Or having a certain number of holidays? A certain salary? No mortgage? Being contented? How will you know when you are comfortably off? The more specific you can be at this stage the better. If your goal is to move into a leadership position, be specific about the role, the organisation, the work you will be doing.

You get the idea.

The next step is to break down your goal. The long term goal is where you are heading, but there will be a number of smaller steps and milestones along the way. Start to break down your goal into as many smaller goals as you can. For example if you are focusing on a running a marathon in 2 years time, break it down into smaller, more manageable goals, like running a half marathon in 1 years time, running 10 miles in 8 months time, running 10k in 6 months time, running 5k in 3 months time, running 4/5 days per week in 6 weeks time, running 2/3 times a week in the next two weeks, getting some decent running shoes and clothes this week.

As you break it down in this way and get closer to this week and today, start to think what can I do today to move me towards my goal. Start adopting the thought process of asking yourself “Is what I am doing moving me towards my goal?” If the answer is yes, then great, if it is “No” think long and hard about the reasons for doing it.

For example if your goal is to improve your personal best in a marathon and you are focusing on your training to get that PB, as you get to work every day, waiting for the lift when there are stairs that could be taken, ask yourself is taking the lift moving you towards your goal? Maybe taking the stairs is a better option. When you are being offered that piece of cake to celebrate a colleagues birthday, ask yourself, will eating this help me towards my goal?

Now I’m not suggesting you should be denying yourself a piece of cake, but it is true that successful people have a focused mind set that is always looking to move themselves towards their goal.

Next step, tell others about your goal. Make yourself accountable to others. The more you talk about it the more it is likely to happen. Give others permission to hold you to account, to check in with you and ask you how it is going.

Go and find some people who have already achieved your goal. Learn from them. Ask them how they got there.

Find a mentor, somebody to help you along the way. Many people enjoy mentoring others, it is often a mutually beneficial relationship.

Now work through your intermediate steps and goals. Stay focused. Take it one day at a time. If things don’t go quite as planned, that’s ok. That is life, but focus on daily steps, even very small ones, to keep you moving towards your goal.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, but brick by brick, one building at a time, over time. It took hard work, focus and vision.

By focusing on the smaller steps, over time, the larger goal comes nearer and nearer.

Lastly, take time every so often to review your goals. Make sure they are still what you want. Make sure they are still aligned with your values. Make sure they still mean something to you. Don’t be afraid of changing them and if it no longer excites you maybe scrapping them altogether!

Good luck!

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